A new member, Forky, is welcomed into the group of toys. Thing is he is not a toy at all, he is a handcrafted spork. Woody makes it his duty to look after the guy and make sure he doesn’t wander off. Bonnie’s family takes a road trip and Forky manages to escape. Woody goes after Forky and tries to get them both back to the RV. On the way, Woody runs into an old friend of his, Bo Peep.
Blaine: Everyone, including me, thought “Toy Story 3” was the end to the “Toy Story” trilogy because that’s what it looked and felt like. Woody, Buzz, Jessie and the others were saying goodbye to their owner, Andy, as he was leaving for college and they found a new home. The ending to “Toy Story 3” made it look convincing that was it. The film business is full of people with creative minds and a lot of ideas will pop up in their heads. There’ll be an idea that comes to mind and it’ll be hard to ignore because it sounds good. And then more ideas will come and the idea will keep growing. Plus this is “Toy Story” and a lot of people love the franchise. They want to see more. The ending to “Toy Story 3” made a few people at Pixar curious to know what Woody will go through next now that he has said goodbye to the kid he shared his whole life with. They thought if there should be another “Toy Story” movie it should focus on Woody a lot. Another reason a sequel would be made is because studios like Disney want to make money. But for the people at Pixar it’s always important to develop a entirely new story, especially when it comes to these sequels.
Woody was planning to go to college with Andy, but that changed because Woody thought it would be best to be given to Bonnie. Bonnie was happy to have Woody and she made a promise to Andy that she would look after him. But Bonnie’s interest in Woody faded fast. In “Toy Story 4”, Woody is being left out of play time and is invisible around Bonnie while the other toys get played with. However, Woody sticks to Bonnie no matter what. A child’s love means everything to Woody. He’s had so much experience in spending time with a kid that he wouldn’t know what else to do with his life.
The people who have worked on these “Toy Story” movies love creating new characters and adding them into this trilogy. The people at Pixar were joking around about Bonnie playing with a rock. They know kids have made things in arts and crafts and they thought wouldn’t it be funny if that object came alive. The rock changed to a spork and became Forky. Tony Hale came to mind while they were creating Forky because he’s very funny.
They wrote Tony a letter describing Forky and Tony believed this was a character he was meant to play, so he was 100% in. Forky gets more attention out of Bonnie than Woody and Woody was already the jealous type in the first “Toy Story” when Buzz first showed up and like I said Pixar likes to make things new. Instead of being jealous of Forky, Woody would be responsible for looking after him.
The toys have been through a lot in these movies and it’s a challenge to think of new stuff for the characters to do. An RV trip hadn’t been done and Pixar thought Forky would keep trying to escape and Woody would have to go after him.
Right from the beginning of this project they wanted to bring back Bo Peep. Question was how was Bo Peep going to find her way back into Woody’s life. The RV trip was a good way to have Woody and Bo reunite. Things would change on the project while it was in pre-production, but Bo Peep was always there.
Bo Peep was in the first two “Toy Story” movies, but not the third one because her character got sold off to someone else. At the beginning of “Toy Story 4” it shows something from the past while the toys were living with Andy and it shows Bo Peep being sold off. Woody had a choice to stay with Andy or be with the toy he is in love with. Woody chose a child’s attention over romance. But Bo Peep was strong when she left. Bo Beep was always a supporting character in the first two movies, she was always there for Woody whenever he needed someone to talk to, like if he was under pressure or concerned. Bo could read Woody perfectly.
Bo was always playing the damsel in distress during play time and Woody would be her savior. While Woody and Forky are trying to make it back to the RV, Woody sees something familiar. It is the lamp Bo Peep used to be attached to and it’s in an antique store. Woody goes in hoping to find Bo, but she abandoned that place. Sometime later, Woody is at a playground, kids are playing with toys and that is where he is reunited with the love of his life, Bo Peep.
When Woody and Bo are reunited it’s a very magical, exciting and powerful moment. It’s like being hit by a lightning bolt. The both of them are glowing. It is really something. One of the things the last “Toy Story” focussed on was the romantic relationship between Buzz Lightyear and Jessie. Bo Peep wasn’t in it so Woody had no one, but he was doing fine with himself. The “Toy Story” movies have shown romance, but the fourth I would say is very romantic.
Bo Beep doesn’t care if she has a kid to own her, she loves being independent and wants to explore new things. Bo Beep is still that sweet soul she was in the past, but there’s more to her now. She is like a martial artist and “Mad Max: Fury Road” combined. Because Bo is made of porcelain she can break easily, but she is very careful with herself and always lands on her feet.
Bo is also more of a main character compared to the other movies she was in. Annie Potts, who does the voice of Bo Peep, was happy to see the character evolved.
Bo Peep and Woody have their differences on how life should be, but they give each other things to think about. Woody and Bo Peep’s relationship in “Toy Story 4” is based on director Josh Cooley’s relationship with his wife. They’ve had their differences, but she would open his eyes to see how things work differently with everyone. Josh wanted to show that through this movie.
They didn’t want Buzz Lightyear left out of this adventure. He’s just as important to “Toy Story” as Woody.
When the RV comes to a stop at a carnival, Buzz goes looking for Woody and Forky because he doesn’t want anyone to be left behind. And Buzz’s friendship with Woody means a lot.
Buzz meets two carnival prizes, Ducky and Bunny, and they like to think violent when it comes to a plan. They think a like and are best pals. Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key work well together after doing a series and a buddy film together and they seemed right to do the voices of Ducky and Bunny. Jordan and Keegan were given a lot of freedom while their voices were being recorded. They bring a lot of character into their work.
Keanu Reeves was the only actor who had to audition for “Toy Story 4”. During the audition process all that was required was the voice because this is an animated feature. The casting director would record the actors voice and show it to director Josh Cooley. Josh didn’t recognize Keanu’s voice because it sounded different. Keanu was putting so much into his voice during his audition. Josh couldn’t believe the voice he had listened to was Keanu Reeves. Josh knew they had to have Keanu in “Toy Story 4” and he got to play Duke Caboom, a stuntman toy. Keanu would prep his voice up before they recorded his voice and they loved the sounds coming out of Keanu’s voice. Keanu would say “Caboon!” and they thought that being Duke Caboom’s famous line.
Director Josh Cooley wanted there to be a doll that’s like Talky Tina to be in the movie and he loved the idea of making her The Godfather of the antique store. Christina Hendricks thought it was a joke when she was offered to be in a new “Toy Story” movie. It was even more hard to believe that Pixar wanted her to do the voice of a pull string doll because she loves and collects them. Christina thought Pixar did a background check on her, but it was all a coincidence.
Gaby Gaby starts off acting like she is the villain. She wants Woody’s voice box to help fix her’s, so that way she can be a fully functional toy again. The villains in the last two “Toy Story” movies thought of kids as evil and desert toys. Again, Pixar doesn’t want to repeat things with it’s movies.
Gaby Gaby is not like those villains. As a matter of fact she’s not a villain at all. She just wants to be with a kid, but she needs her voice box fixed first.
Gaby Gaby’s henchmen are ventriloquist dummies and when they surround the baby carriage Woody and Forky are in with Gaby Gaby it’s like something out of a horror film. Woody manages to escape, but Forky gets caught. Gaby Gaby learns a lot about Woody from Forky while he’s her hostage.
Woody goes after Forky with help from Bo Peep, Buzz Lightyear, Ducky, Bunny and Duke Caboon. They manage to get Forky, but Gaby Gaby gets him back. Gaby Gaby talks to Woody and wants to reason with him. Woody sacrifices his voice box for a trade to get Forky back because it was the only option left. Gaby Gaby makes things fair and gives Forky back to Woody as promised. Gaby Gaby has had her eye on this girl who’s grandmother owns the antique store and she believes this girl is who she is meant to be with. But the kid rejects Gaby Gaby and Gaby Gaby is hurt. Woody won’t allow this. Woody knows there are kids out there who treat toys with respect who are more special than others. He believes Bonny can help. Woody has a new mission and that is to get Gaby Gaby to Bonnie, but all that changes because something grabs Gaby Gaby’s attention. She sees a lost little girl at the carnival and Gaby Gaby feels she needs her more than Bonnie. I didn’t think Bonnie was the answer because all she cares about is Forky and she has plenty of toys. Gaby Gaby keeps that lost girl company and now that the girl is not alone she finally has the courage to ask an adult to help find her parents. That was a very moving scene to watch.
When it is time to leave, Woody decides to stay behind and not go back to Bonnie. I had a feeling Woody do that. It looked obvious from Bonnie not paying attention to him. Plus Woody has strong feelings for Bo Peep. His feelings for Bo are probably stronger than ever. Woody and Bo Peep say goodbye when the RV arrives, but it is hard to run away from love.
Woody had a choice to be with Bo Peep once, but he chose his owner. He’s lucky that second chances can come your way sometimes and Woody is given a second chance to decide who he really wants to be with. Spending a lot of time with a kid and being played with was fun while it lasted, but now it’s time to move on and be with that special someone you can spend eternity with. Woody hardly gets played with anymore and this time he knows he wants to be with Bo Peep.
Buzz understands why Woody would leave because he knows what love is. After all he and Jessie are a couple and they love each other. Woody and Bo Peep are really cute together at the end of “Toy Story 4”. It’s so romantic.
Woody saying goodbye to Buzz and the gang is so powerful. It’s one of those endings that really gets to ya.
Buzz will miss Woody the most because they are best friends and Woody is a role model to Buzz. Woody has taught Buzz so much. It’s because of Woody that Buzz learned he does have a purpose in life, after learning he wasn’t a real space ranger, and that is to make a child happy. That was always Woody’s saying. Woody and Buzz have been through a lot together as pals and they’ll live on in each others’ memories.
My rating on “Toy Story 4” is five out of five stars
